Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, says Nigeria is leveraging the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) to strengthen its relationship with Japan and rally support for Africa’s representation in global decision-making bodies.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ninth TICAD summit on Wednesday, Tuggar noted that the event involves the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN), and the World Bank, creating opportunities for meaningful discussion.
“Japan, as we are aware, is the third largest economy in the world, and they have two organs of engaging with Africa. There is Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is the Japan agency that deals with overseas development assistance,” the minister said.
“There is the Japan External Trade Organisation, which is the Japanese organ that deals with trade abroad. And in the case of Nigeria, we have had engagements in the power sector.
“There’s a transmission project going on in Nigeria being supported by this organ.”
He said Nigeria is also trading agricultural commodities such as shea butter, cassava, and the grain acha, which is in high demand in Japan.
The minister added that hydrocarbons remain a major export to Japan, with current trade volumes valued at around $1 billion, noting that “we’re looking to expand that”.
PUSH FOR UN SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT, GLOBAL FINANCE RESTRUCTURING
Beyond trade, Tuggar reiterated that TICAD also serves as a stage for advancing Africa’s political and institutional interests.
With at least 17 heads of state expected at the summit, Nigeria is lobbying for seats at global institutions, including the UN Security Council, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
The minister added that Nigeria plays a pivotal role in ongoing efforts to reform the global financial architecture
“Unless we have that reform in the global financial architecture, we cannot benefit and Africa as a whole cannot benefit, so it does not benefit us if others are not also making progress,” he said.
“Some of the things that are being tabled here — because like I said, the United Nations is here, the World Bank is here — has to do with the issues of debt, debt rescheduling, and debt restructuring, and in the case of Nigeria, because it is a leading economy on the continent, we seek to do what Japan did here.”
He drew parallels with Japan’s post-war economic rise, noting how Japanese corporations expanded across Asia during the 1960s and 1970s in what became known as the “flying geese effect”.
“We’re already doing that. If you look at the continent, you’ll see that Nigeria has its banks in other countries. It is Zenith, it is GTBank, it is UBA, it is Access Bank,” he said.
“If you look at businesses — Dangote, BUA, Sahara, and many others like TGI. If we continue as a government to support that, which is what Japan did deliberately… which is what the president is committed to, that way we can create those jobs for our teeming youth, tackle the issue of unemployment, and of course those macroeconomic reforms of President Tinubu are already in progress and we’re beginning to feel the positive effects.”
Tuggar harped on the importance of Nigeria being on global decision-making tables “which is why we need that position in the United Nations Security Council”.